The biceps muscles on the front of your upper arms are a dual-headed muscle group. Fortunately, both heads work together to bend your arms, but you can alter your training slightly to focus on the outer portion of the biceps. A traditional bicep curl keeps your elbows close to your body and your hands in front of you, which concentrates on more of the short head (Ref. 1 and 2). You can challenge the longer head of the muscle with a slight change to your form to develop well-rounded and peaked biceps for strong, toned arms.

Step 3

Step 4

Inhale, straighten your arms and return the weights to the starting position.

Step 5

To further increase the challenge on the longer head of the biceps, rotate your wrists so your hands turn slightly outward (Ref. 2).

Step 6

Complete one to three sets of eight to 12 biceps curls. Rest for 60 seconds in between sets. Add the biceps curls with the slight shoulder extension to your workout routine two to three days a week, with at least one day of rest between workouts.

Tip

Use dumbbells as your resistance so both arms receive an equal amount of training. Select a weight that you can curl at least eight, but no more than 12 times. Once you can lift the weight 12 times, increase the amount to continuously challenge the biceps.

References

About the Author

A mother of two and passionate fitness presenter, Lisa M. Wolfe had her first fitness article published in 2001. She is the author of six fitness books and holds an Associate of Arts in exercise science from Oakland Community College. When not writing, Wolfe is hula-hooping, kayaking, walking or cycling.